There is far more to the British capital than meets the eye, and there is always something new and fascinating to learn about historical and modern-day London. Below, you will find some little known facts about Londons Gardens and Parks Near London:

What are the The Royal Parks of London?

The Royal Parks of London are lands originally used by the monarchy for the recreation (mostly hunting) of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of the Crown.

The public does not have any legal right to use the Parks, as public access depends on the grace and favour of the Crown, although there may be public rights of way across the land.

The centrepieces of London's park system, the eight Royal Parks Cover 1976 hectares.

Green Park (16ha), St. James's Park (34ha), Hyde Park (140ha), and Kensington Gardens (111ha)form a green strand through the western side of the city centre, whilst a fifth, Regent's Park (197ha) is just to the north. The remaining three Royal Parks are in the suburbs. Greenwich Park (73ha) to the south east, and Bushy Park (450ha) and Richmond Park (955ha) to the south west.

Many of the smaller green spaces in central London are garden squares which were built for the private use of the residents of the fashionable districts, but in some cases are now open to the public. Notable examples open to the public are Russell Square in Bloomsbury,Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn and Soho Square in Soho.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea contains over 100 garden squares whose use is restricted to residents. The upkeep of these squares is paid for through a levy on top of residents' council tax.
In addition to these spaces, a large number of council-owned parks were developed between the mid 19th century and the Second World War.